Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is set to implement MarTrust, a specialised payment service designed for maritime purposes, for seafarers aboard ships managed by MOL Group’s ship management firms.
This initiative is geared towards enhancing the well-being of seafarers by facilitating electronic payroll distribution through mobile applications. MOL’s target is to provide access to MarTrust for all eligible seafarers by the fiscal year 2024.
MarTrust, developed by Marcura Group in Dubai, is an international payroll service for seafarers. It provides seafarers with e-wallet accounts and international branded debit cards, enabling them to transfer funds between bank accounts and e-wallets through a mobile app.
Additionally, MarTrust supports cash withdrawals from ATMs globally, allowing electronically received payments to be converted to cash. This innovation addresses the need for seafarers’ salaries to be deposited in bank accounts, replacing the traditional practice of receiving a portion of their pay in cash onboard vessels.
Moreover, before the introduction of MarTrust, seafarers had to go through a lengthy process with their manning company to remit cash salaries to their relatives and others, with restrictions on where the money could be sent, taking about a month for the transfer to complete.
However, with MarTrust, seafarers can now use a mobile app to receive their cash payments and send them directly to recipients in just a few days.
From April to July 2023, MOL conducted trials of MarTrust on its group company-managed vessels, and the decision to fully introduce the service was based on the many comments from seafarers who participated in the trials on the need for the service, as well as its benefits.
